Machir the son of Manasseh

MACHIR THE SON OF MANASSEH, 12th, Century B.C.

Various allusions indicate that movements similar to the Danite migration took place among other tribes, though the respective traditions have been lost. This is mainly documented in the genealogical tables. For example, Machir, now listed as the father of Gilead, was still found among the tribes of Mount Ephraim in the Song of Deborah (Judg 5:14). After Machir migrated thither from Mount Ephraim, the western tribe was called Manasseh, who became its eponymous ancestor. The concept of “the half-tribe of Manasseh” in Transjordan is related to this later phase of the period of the Judges. Thus a complicated genealogy of Manasseh was created in which Machir became the father of Gilead which is then inserted into the main stem of the family tree (see Num 26:29–33).

Article abstract from The Sacred Bridge